The Bark of A Crocodog
by GeminiMercedes
Summary: Every morning before his shift, Daxter is awoken by the sound of a crocodog running around the slums. Who'd have thought this crocodog would serve as more than a personal alarm clock? JakxDaxter (Jaxter). Slightly AU. Imagine if Jak had the personality of Jak1 but wasn't mute. R&R! Explanation on my absence at the end of the story.


_**The Bark of A Crocodog**_

**Bio: Every morning before his shift, Daxter is awoken by the sound of a crocodog running around the slums. Who'd have thought this crocodog would serve as more than a personal alarm clock? JakxDaxter (Jaxter). Slightly AU. Imagine if Jak had the personality of Jak1 but wasn't mute. R&amp;R! **

_**PLEASE READ: **_**Huge A/N at the end of this with an explanation on the delays for other fics. **

_**Enjoy!**_

xxx

"_Grr...RAWR, RAWR!" _

The sound of a crocadog running around the slums served as a gift and a curse for Daxter on weekday mornings.

On one hand, the dog got him out of his slumber in ways an alarm clock could not. He couldn't afford an alarm clock to test that theory, but he was sure if he _had_ an alarm clock it would probably fail to wake him out of a deep sleep.

But on the other hand, the dog forced him to get up and actually face the world. Which should have been a choice if Daxter had any say in it.

But Daxter couldn't remember a day when his choices _weren't_ controlled to some extent by the society around him.

He groaned as he brushed his teeth in his dingy shack located in the corner of the slums. The hover bus would pass at 10:15 sharp and he had to catch it if he wanted to make it to work by 11:00 to get ready for the lunch rush. His job at the "Dirty Diva" fast food joint, located on the border lining the city and the slums, was probably one of the most revolting places in the city. It was a sketchy and far from sanitary place but the weekly brawls between drunk patrons provided enough entertainment for Daxter to forget he couldn't afford a T.V.

At the very least, he had that crazy crocadog to wake him up in the morning. He had never met the owner, as he or she was long gone by the time he sprinted to the bus stop, but he always wished a silent 'thank you' to them for choosing the time they did to walk their pet.

xxx

But one morning the crocadog didn't bark, and if it hadn't been for a nightmare that had kept him up, Daxter was sure he would have been late for work.

The redhead groaned loudly as he rolled off his air mattress and lifted himself off the floor. Brushing his teeth and washing his face seemed more of a hassle without the sound of the crocadog's groans and growls pushing their way through the holes in his one bedroom shack.

Reasons for the crocadog's absence plagued his mind as he got on the crowded, double decker hover bus that travelled into the city. _Could it have died? Did it run away? Did the owner move away? _He didn't have an answer and for some reason that was bothering him more than anything. He didn't even retort when his asshat of a boss threatened to dock his pay if he didn't serve the resident drunk Mr. Peters who had a habit of getting a little too touchy feely when Daxter would clean the tables around him.

It was only then did he realize what an impact that crocadog, and by extension, owner had had on his life. They had both filled some type of weird void of normalcy that he had never been afforded as an orphan stuck in a big city with a tyrannical leader.

It was then that Daxter had decided he was going to thank the owner. He had never had the best social skills and a stranger could read his insecurities from head to toe like a book, but he was going to give it a shot. He imagined the owner as some scruffy kid or prepubescent teen with an attitude problem but neither image helped his social anxiety.

It was one of those things where he would just have to wing it and hope for the best. It was how he usually got by anyway.

But the crocadog didn't return for several days, and Daxter's worry had escalated to almost extreme levels. He wasn't sure what bothered him more at this point, the crocadog's disappearance or the burst of confidence he had gained from wanting to meet the owner that was beginning to wane. Either way, he was silently praying that he would hear a bark or growl soon. His nightmares had kept him up, but he much rather preferred the crocadog as an alarm clock.

xxx

Then it happened. It was a Tuesday, since after a horrible Monday shift with Mr. Peters Daxter was more than ready to skip out on his shift.

But something woke him out of his miserable stupor and it took him a minute to realize what it was.

"_Grr...RAWR, RAWR!" _

"_No way!" _Daxter had thought to himself. It had been about two weeks since he'd last heard that sleep shattering sound and here it was, echoing through his abode. He grasped as his thin blankets, almost expecting any movement to eradicate the sound.

A nagging feeling in the back of his mind reminded him of what he had told himself to do. It left him in a frozen state. He was more than slightly nervous and the thought of falling back into a world where that crocadog was his alarm clock seemed good enough.

But with a deep breathe, he rose from his sheets and headed to the bathroom. Splashing water on his face was all he had time for before he ran out into the streets. It was a bright and sunny day and Daxter found himself squinting at the two suns burning down on him.

The crocadog was smaller than he'd expected but it's voice made up for its small body. It was connected to a purple leash that was currently being held by someone Daxter couldn't see through the sunlight.

The crocadog seemed bored today. It looked around aimlessly until its eyes fell on Daxter's skinny frame. In a second it was charging at him with a mischievous grin and had it not been so tiny, Daxter might have screamed. But he was focussed on the voice of the owner that was feeling the tug of the leash in his hand.

"H-hey, what are you…" It was a guy for sure. Probably around his age too, it wasn't that deep.

Daxter slowly moved towards the dog and bent down to let it lick his hand. It lapped at his fingers before it began sniffing his shoe.

"Loud little guy you got there, huh?" Daxter said with a grin, standing back up and looking in the owner's general direction. He was still scared to fully look at the guy.

"Yeah, he can be a bit much. Sorry if I woke you. I thought people were at work by now." The stranger said cheerfully. Daxter's ears twitched.

The stranger was only a boy around his age, but he sounded _cute_. He would have to look now. Besides, who says thank you without looking at the person you're thanking? Daxter was weird, but not _that _weird.

"No prob, I work in the…" But maybe Daxter was that weird because before he could stop himself he giving the man in front of him a once (or twice) over.

He wasn't tall, almost an inch shorter than Daxter actually. But he had yellow and green flowing locks, bright blue eyes, and a - oh my Mar! - curly goatee. The guy was gorgeous to say the least.

"You work where?" The stranger asked, raising an eyebrow. Daxter quickly cleared his throat.

"Sorry! I work at this stupid fast food restaurant close to the city. My shift starts around lunch so I leave later in the morning. Your dog was my alarm clock until a few weeks ago." He said with a sheepish smile.

The stranger's confused stare turned into a warm smile and Daxter's blush increased tenfold.

"I came down with something and there was no way I was leaving the house. This little guy was pretty upset," The stranger explained, gesturing to the crocodog. "But I'm slowly making it up to him."

"I'm Jak, by the way." The stranger said, holding out his hand. Daxter quickly shook it and smiled. The crocadog barked happily.

"That's Spike." Jak said, point to the crocadog.

"I'm Daxter, but around these parts they call me _Orange Lightning_." He replied with a smirk. Jak laughed and shook his head.

"I'll try to remember that, Daxter." He said with a genuine smile.

Daxter liked this guy. He seemed nice and he couldn't remember the last time he's heard someone laugh in the slums.

"Well anyway Blondie, I have to get ready for work. Thanks again for the wake up call." Daxter said, turning on his heel. His heart was beating way out of what would have been deemed healthy and he didn't think he'd be able to stand there any longer without saying something stupid. That and he really did need to get ready for work.

"Uh, Daxter?" He heard Jak call after him. Turning around slowly, he looked back at the blonde who instantly turned away.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering…" Jak looked like he was debating on calling off whatever he was trying to say. Spike looked back and forth between them with an oblivious smile.

"...would you like to walk him with me one of these days? If it's not too much trouble." Jak winced after he finished, almost as if he knew he'd be rejected. Daxter tried his best not to break out in the biggest smile he had.

"Sure blondie! I'll expect my alarm clock to start a bit earlier tomorrow then!" Daxter said with a wave. Jak's wince turned into a huge smile and he waved bashfully before turning as well.

"_I'll be damned"_ Daxter thought to himself as he reentered his shack and began searching for his uniform. "_Looks like that crocodog helped me in more ways than one."_

He couldn't wait to tell Tess how he now had an alarm clock _and_ a date. Sorta.

xxx

_AN: Hi guys! I know it's been FOREVER since I've added anything to my account. Real life has been hectic to say the least and while I have written several short stories, I've always gone back and hated them for one reason or another. This was actually a common thread in the last few months where I would create something and make up reasons for it not to go out. I've come out of that insecurity in other art forms but not really literature. This also goes for my older stories that never saw a proper ending. I feel horrible for creating long, endearing tales only to stop when the plot began to pick up. I either started writing new chapters and didn't finish or the inspiration never made it past the last update. I have friends who have read several of my fics and are pushing me (like you guys) to update but I have yet to do so. I want to TRY updating some of my older fics but I don't want to make any promises yet. Right now, as I begin to recover my FF creative energies, I hope you all continue on this journey with me. It might not always be a game or anime you like but I hope you at least give it chance. I'm going to try sticking to one-shots until I believe I can commit to something longer. I still want to finish __**Dark &amp; Stormy**__, __**Interns**_ _and possibly __**No Regrets**_ _since you guys love that one. It's just hard to take myself back to the times when I wrote those fics (which by now is years ago). I will try though! Again, no promises! Updates in the coming months...and hopefully some one-shots to make up for the wait. Thank you to everyone sticking with me! _

_Side note: I just can't give up my love for JakXDaxter fanfiction. I wish Jak 4 would become a reality so the community could reemerge but hopefully this fic (and more on the way) will help the pairing. There are some amazing stories on this site for Jaxter though and I hope there will be many more even if the games don't continue. _

_-GeminiMercedes-_


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